The St. Louis playgrounds are some of the best. One year was not enough to spend in St. Louis to experience all of the amazing playgrounds the city has to offer. I think the best way to describe the playgrounds in St. Louis is thoughtful. They aren’t just a swing and slides but a lot of them are themed and unique. We loved exploring some of the playgrounds that St. Louis has to offer.

Before we moved to St. Louis two different people told me the playgrounds are awesome. Little did I know how diverse and how many amazing playgrounds there would be. One of them told me there favorite one was Deer Creek Park or Rocket Ship playground. The little bit of creativity in the playgrounds ignited my own kids imagination and I could hear them fantasizing themselves in outer space.

Good People in St. Louis

Not only are the playgrounds fantastic but the people in St. Louis are so good. One of my favorite playground stories that exemplifies this is from a little playground in Richmond Heights- called Highland Park.

When we arrived on a warm summer day there were water guns all over this little playground.  There was only two other moms there and I asked them if they were their water guns (because my kids were looking at them longingly). One of the moms said they were hers and that they were for everyone to use. She said, “it’s not fun if just my kids have super soakers to play with so I just bring a bunch for all of the children to play with”. She had a little cart that she puts them in and wheels them all to the playground from her home. These are the type of people I met in St. Louis. My kids of course were very quick to enjoy the water guns. St. Louis has been the best city to live in.

I tried ranking the playgrounds but I had such a hard time. They all had their unique qualities to them so aside from my favorite playground the rest of the playgrounds are not in any particular order.

Favorite St. Louis Playgrounds

1) Missouri Botanical Gardens.

This is my absolute favorite playground in St. Louis.  The gardens and playground are free for St. Louis residents on Saturday mornings until noon. There are a few week nights in the summer where the gardens and playground are free for everyone (The Whitaker Music Festival). The playground is large and has so many different areas to go in. There are Music area, art out of nature, (Climatron kid area), Sand box, Puppet Theater, Water area, Tree house, store, Caves, Rope bridge, Slides, and splash pad.

2) Kiener Plaza Park– This playground has a beautiful view of the arch and the old courthouse. We can park for free on Sundays.

3) Deer Creek Park– Otherwise known as Rocket Ship Park. This playground is a perfect example of how thoughtful the playground could be. There is a gigantic slide, diggers and moon vehicle kids can pretend to drive. My son had baseball games right next to this park and it was a regular. That’s me in the photo.

4) Sunset hills– My kids favorite feature of this park was the little zipline. When you first get to the parking lot there are two playgrounds right by the parking lot. Those are fun playgrounds to play on but if you want to get to the playground in these photos you need to take the trail done to the little pond. It’s a beautiful little walk and the playground is surrounded by woods and walking trails.

5) Shaw Park– This playground is located in Clayton. It’s beautiful, enclosed, and has a small splash pad. The playground looks like a tree house which makes for fun imagination.There is a butterfly garden and actually another playground that is short walking distance from the tree house looking one. The park is huge and my kids favorite part was exploring the nearby waterfalls.

6) Faust– This is a great playground with a rock climbing wall. This was always a stop when we went to the Butterfly House. The butterfly house was always free in the morning of the the first Tuesday of the month for St. Louis Residents.

7) Turtle Playground– The playground is small and simple but unique. There were a bunch of large turtle sculptures the kids could play on. I think the novelty of the playground is why my kids loved it.  The playground is close to the zoo. Actually I think some people parked here and walked to the zoo on busy days.

8) Tower Grove Park. Their are two playgrounds that are fenced in. In between the playgrounds is a large fountain/splash pad area that the kids could play in. The play structures are fun but not necessarily unique. We love this playground though because the kids could run between the two playgrounds and splash pad. About a block away is a beautiful area of Tower Grove Park that is gorgeous in the spring. There are so many flowers blooming, a pong and rock structure. We saw lots of prom pictures being taken here.

9) Zachary’s Playground.   The kids loved this playground because it’s shaped like a castle. There is small splash pad. The area is fenced in and has multiple areas to it aside from the castle area. For example a music area, a boat, and the ropes to climb.

10) Highland Park This is the playground where the mom brought all the super soakers that I talked about in the beginning.  There are no bathrooms at this playground and the street parking is limited. There is a little splash pad here as well.

11) Queeny Park This is another great example of creative St. Louis playgrounds. This one looks like a fort with underground tunnels. There is no shade here so it’s best not in the summer time.

12)  Memorial Park. Finally I have to mention the most used playground is the one that’s the closest to home. Brentwood has some great playgrounds from Tilles Park and Oak Tree Park. The bottom photos are from memorial park which we went to all the time. There are also fun walking trails next to a creek in the playground. My kids loved crossing the creek. As you can see we learned to be all weather people and went to the playgrounds rain or shine or snow and loved it!

What are your favorite playgrounds? Do you like going to different playgrounds or are you regulars at a few playgrounds? I wish we still lived there to explore the many more amazing St. Louis playgrounds. The ninja one featured in this article would be the next on my list to visit.